A Moscow court has sentenced Oscar-nominated film producer Alexander Rodnyansky to eight-and-a-half years in jail in absentia on Monday for spreading “fake” information about the Russian army.
Rodnyansky, 63, was born in Kyiv but spent most of his career in Russia, producing numerous TV series and movies there, including the Oscar-nominated crime drama Leviathan. He has been openly critical of the Kremlin’s actions since it deployed troops into Ukraine in February 2022, consistently condemning the invasion on social media.
Following a warning that his criticism had put him in the sights of the Kremlin, Rodnyansky left the country shortly after. Subsequently, Russia’s Ministry of Justice labeled him a “foreign agent,” and in 2023, a Moscow court issued an arrest warrant for him in absentia.
The Basmanny court in Moscow found him guilty of “disseminating knowingly false information about the use of the Russian armed forces” on Monday, according to a statement from Moscow’s court service.
Rodnyansky stated that the case was linked to his “anti-war posts on Instagram” and expressed strong disagreement with the verdict.
“No Basmanny court can silence me from speaking out and continuing to do what I have always done – creating films,” he wrote in a post on Telegram.
In a piece for the Guardian last year, he stated, “No other country in the world recognizes this offense, and I do not either. I will persist in denouncing the invasion across all available platforms.”
Since February 2022, Russia has detained, fined, and imprisoned thousands of individuals for opposing its actions in Ukraine – a crackdown that human rights organizations have likened to the Soviet era.
Rodnyansky started his career in Ukraine, where he established the nation’s first independent television network in 1995, but is best known for his film work in Russia.
As a producer of over 30 films, he has had four nominations for an Oscar in the best foreign film category: Chief in Love, East-West, Leviathan, and Loveless.
Loveless, a film about a separated couple compelled to collaborate after their child disappears, received the jury prize at the Cannes film festival.
Leviathan, which follows a man’s struggle against Russian corruption after being evicted from his family’s property, won the Golden Globe award for best foreign-language film in 2015.